McLennan: Applause Creep

John: Point taken – I’ll try to focus this entry on more or less one idea. The other day I was a guest on a CBC radio show as part of a panel talking about “applause inflation.” Of course it does seem that all anyone has to do anymore is walk on stage and get off without tripping over themselves to earn a standing O.
Some people are upset that audiences give it up too easily, that their standards have slipped, that what used to be reserved for special occasions is now demeaned by over-use. Now, I have to confess I’m one of the stubborn sitters and don’t get to my feet very often, but I do feel sometimes that I have to bend to the group breeze and rise.
I do think that the fashion for standing after a performance has come to mean just that, a fashion that shows general appreciation. Can’t we all just get along? But I wonder if this is some evidence that the way people relate to live performances has changed in recent years. The auto-stand isn’t just happening in out-of-the-way places; you see it at Carnegie Hall, too.
I don’t often hear many engaged conversations about a performance as people are leaving the hall (or intermission or afterward). And if you try to strike up a conversation with the average audience member (whoever that is), you tend to get generalized, safe impressions. It often seems oddly detached, safe.
It seems like more people are reluctant to express passionate specific opinions about the traditional performing arts. Yet, ask them about movies or pop music they listen to, and suddenly everyone’s a critic; they become animated talking about why they “loved” this or “hated” that.
I think that it’s because people consume music and movies in easy-to-get quantity. They have personal relationships with movies and TV and music because they can access it almost anytime, anywhere. And they feel secure in their ability to judge what is good and what is bad because of those relationships and they aren’t afraid to express it.
People used to have this kind of passionate relationship with live performance, but I wonder if most (and even a lot of critics) are not confident enough anymore to stake out strong opinions. What does this mean? Is it easier to have a relationship with your MP3 player? Are people too intimidated to presume a strong reaction? It’s certainly more predictable (safe) when you have control over it.
This growing public detachment about traditional art is a problem. I think younger people who are growing up with this amazing access to entertainment have different expectations about the artists they choose to engage with. It’s a more interactive dynamic than the traditional I perform/you listen mode. Newspapers are grappling with this problem. Disney’s grappling with it. Anyone who makes anything has to rethink how they’re going to interact with people. I think many traditional “content producers” are clueless about this new dynamic. Critics too, for that matter (present company excepted, of course).